Name Power

Case Study: Mile One Eating House, Pemberton, BC.

We all do it, shorten names to a quick, easy to say sound bite. We rarely use full, proper names when we speak. This is an important consideration when naming your business. Equally important is making sure that your proper “given-name” represents your business, your brand and your product or service.

Mile One Eating House in Pemberton, BC discovered this first hand and made a quick, strategic change to harness the potential power of their name.

Commonly referred to as “Mile One”, the new Pemberton restaurant originally opened with the name “Mile One Roadside Café and Basecamp”. The name was decided on to describe the location at the main intersection of highway 99 in Pemberton, to convey a casual tone and reference the outdoorsy, adventurous spirit of the area. One small problem; it confused the customers they were trying to attract. The word “café” in itself is problematic in the restaurant world. Mile One doesn’t have an Espresso machine, a strategic decision to not interfere with neighbouring Mount Currie Coffee Co and Black Bird Bakery. Unfortunately, customers didn’t understand this and routinely walked in looking for coffee. Further, “Basecamp” didn’t inform customers about what kind of food to expect.

Mile One offers a fine dining approach to comfort food classics using quality ingredients sourced regionally. Features include the Pemberton Meadows Natural Beef Burger Collection and Gourmet Mac & Cheese.

Chef / Owner Randy Jones hired Betsy Linnell Marketing Management to help develop a marketing strategy for the restaurant. Issues around the name were identified and a project team was assembled to develop a brand strategy for Mile One including a new name, revised logo as well as the creation of a tag line, key messages and advertising copy. Local graphic designer Brigit Sirota-Goldammer and writer Lisa Richardson along with Betsy Linnell formed the trio to address the opportunity. The result, “Mile One Eating House” was born. A tag line was also created to further support the name and let customers know what to expect. “Get Well Fed”, is now used in addition to the logo.

“Eating House” is straightforward and clear. Confident and playful. “Get Well Fed” is an active statement that assumes that the customer is in need of a good meal. This tag line helps to position the quality of the food and provides a direct benefit to the customer who will be well nourished and taken care of.

Local patrons still say “Meet you at Mile One”, but visually, the name change helps to market the restaurant to those not already in the know. Located on the corner as you turn into town, potential customers are clearly aware that they can eat here. It’s a casual spot with good food. The design of the logo further supports this. Styled like a trail marker the logo references the outdoor, adventure nature of the area and the clientele.

Two days after the name changed on the sign, Randy Jones reports that the shortened name and new sign are more visible and clearly communicate the food message. “I’m really happy with the revised name and sign. I’m sure we’ve already attracted some driving travelers because of it.”

Leveraging your Fan Base

I frequently advise my small business clients to start blogging. It’s a great way to add content to your website and provide additional information to support your brand position and key messaging. Blog posts also tend to be a bit less formal so they have a different feel. A voice that is consistent with your brand can go a long way towards deepening the reader’s connection with your brand / product / service.

More often than not, clients are reluctant to blog. At first, I interpreted this as a fear of technology. That’s not what it is – it’s time. Small business owners are already doing a little bit of everything and don’t want to take on one more thing. That is where leveraging your fan base comes in.

As consumers, we already know that a 3^rd party product endorsement is seen as more authentic than messaging direct from a particular brand. So, why not leverage the power of your fan base to help develop content for your website? Invite your customers to contribute!

Whistler Blackcomb is in the process of doing just that. In a recent ad in Pique Newsmagazine http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/pique/index.php?cat=C_Classifieds&content=careers+1745, Whistler Blackcomb advertised “Bloggers Wanted”. In exchange for weekly blog posts about their Whistler Blackcomb experiences, successful bloggers will receive a season pass, VIP access to special events and WB swag. What a great way to engage your fans, develop website content and benefit from 3^rd party endorsements!

The goal is to deepen the relationship that customers have with your brand. Putting your customers to work and rewarding them for their efforts is a great way for small businesses to benefit from social media AND save time.

Pemberton Valley Wellness Celebrates their One-Year Anniversary with “Patient Appreciation Day”

I often council my clients to seek out opportunities to build relationships with their clients. In the marketing sense, developing or deepening relationships is really about branding – connecting with your target audience in a meaningful way that reinforces what your business is all about. In the case of Betsy Linnell Marketing Management client Pemberton Valley Wellness (PVW), Dr. Shannon Paul is doing just that. The Pemberton Valley Wellness brand is build upon a solid framework of trust, caring and patient-centered collaborative care. By inviting patients to celebrate with the PVW team in their office Shannon is demonstrating what the PVW brand is about in a meaningful way, providing useful information in a friendly, comfortable setting, aimed at improving the quality of life of patients. Even better, she is maximizing the opportunity to share with patients some of the other services that the team offers in order to grow the business.

Patient Appreciation Day is being held on Friday November 27^th from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM. The event includes cupcakes, refreshments, prizes and kids games. In addition, Dr. Paul and her team will offering massage and spa demos as well as providing wellness information sessions including: a Backpack Check for kids to ensure that backpacks are being packed and worn properly; Ergonomic Desk Set Up and Acupressure Points for Everyday Life.

Congratulations to Dr. Shannon Paul and the Pemberton Valley Wellness on a successful first year. Happy Anniversary!